Acetylene-gas generator.



J. K. HAWKINS.

AOETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.23,1914.

1,1 13,989. Patented Oct. .20, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1. E as l- L 17 MIMI! iw r m 19 ELIE-.7-

J12. jfazziw'ua Witnesses 35 I 51 WW J. K. HAWKINS.

AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.23.1914.

1, 1 1 3,989. Patented Oct. 20, 1914..

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1 7 i V 7 V v E flnvenhom Q W Sum/"WA I. K. HAWKINS.

AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.23,1914. 1,1 13,989.

Patented Oct. 20, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Zlvwewtoz JOHN K. HAWKINS Oi MOHAWK, TENNESSEE.

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR Specification o! I Lettera Patent.

Patented Oct. 20, l 914.

Application filed March 23, 1814. Serial No. 826,419.

To all whom it m 1y cmurcrn:

eit known that l, .lollN K. llAwKiNs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mohawk, in the county of Greene and State of 'l(-nlu':-&see., have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Acetylene-Gas Gencraters; and I do declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.' 1

My invention relates to improvements in aietylene gas generators and has for its main object to provide a simply constructed generator which will be ellicient in operation and well adapted to the purposes for which it is designed. To this end, 1 employ a water tank, a gas hell, and a carbid hopper within the hell.

Other objects of the invention are to provide means for rigidly supporting the hop-. per within the hell, novel. means for controlling the discharge of earbid from the hopper, means whereby said hopper may be filled with carbidwhile the generator is in operation, and means for preventing any moisture, drip )ing from the top of the gas hell, from fal ing upon the hopper or the valve operating mechanism.

With the above and other minor objects in view, the. invention resides in certain novel features of construction and combination herein described and claimed and shown in the drawings wherein- Figure l. is a side elevation of my improved gas generator, the hell being partially raised; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the complete generator; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line 4i of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the agitators to-he described; Fig. (3 is an enlarged side elevation of the carbid controlling valve; Fig. 7 is a horr zontal section thereof on the line 77 of Fig. (i; and Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of one of the levers and segmental gears which are employed for the purpose of actuating the carbid controlling valve.

in the accompanying drawings, I have shown my improved mac-lune. as comprising. in generalfa' water tank 1, a. gas hell 2 slidable therein, a carbid hopper 2, within the hell, a service pipe 4 leading from the interior of said bell to the house connections, means for operating a valve; within the carbid hopper, means for filling said hopper without the neix-ssity of removing the hell and means for preventing any moisture, dripping from the top ofthe bell, from falling upon said hopper or the valve o mrating 'mcchanism.

The tank 1 may be of any desirable construction and is preferably provided at its ll|)l)0l'-0ll(l with a chute 5 for-the purpose of conveying water to the interior of said tank, while its lower end is provided with a valved discharge nozzle 6 through which the contents of said tank may be discharged. \Vhen the nozzle 6 is in use for this purpose, agitators 7 are employed for the purpose of loosening any sediment which may have collected in said tank.

The agitators 7 preferably include upright shafts 8 having cranks 9 on their upper ends while the portions which contact with the bottom of the tank 1, are in the form of tines 10. The shafts 8 are rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 11 which are. carried rigidly by the wall of the tank l.

The gas hell 2 is of usual construction and is provided on its closed upper end, with a loop or handle 12 to which a cable 13 is connected, said cable passing over a pulley H and being adapted for the purpose of manually raising the hell 2. The pulley 14 is preferably carried upon, arms 1 which depend from rollers 16, the latter being engaged with an ove head track 17, said track being spaced :1 suitable distance above the top of the tank I, to allow the entire hell 2 to. be. removed and conveyed to one. side of said tank. As is usual with devices of this character, transveise rods 18 supported by upright rods 1.!) which rise. from the tank, are employed for the purpose of limiting the upward-movement of the bell 2, underaordinary circuu \st:uu-es.-

as above described, the rods 18 may be removed.

The Cal'bld hopper 3 includes a substantially cylindrical body portion 20 having shown in Fig. 2, the lower end 21 of the hopper 3, projects through a central opening in the top 23 of said hood shaped member, the remainder of said top 23 being perforated as shown at 26 for a purpose to appear.

The upper end of the hopper 3 is partially closed by a ring 27 WhlCll is removably secured thereto and is provided with a transverse plate 28, said plate being employed for the purpose of supporting a num ular guide 30.- As clearly shown in the drawin s, the posts her of pivot posts 29 and a tu 29 rise from said plate while t e guide 30 depends therefrom into the interior of the hopper 3 and has its lower end enlarged or flared outwardly as shown at 31. The posts 29 are arranged in pairs, one pair being disposed upon each end of the plate 28, said pairs being connected by pivot bolts 32 upon which segmental gears 33 are pivoted, said gears being carried upon the inner ends of levers '34 which project outwardly and terminate a slight distance from 'the wall of the hell 2. The segmental gears 33 are of rather heavy construction, this provision being made for the purpose of causing said levers 34 to swing upwardly around their pivots, this movement of the levers 34 being hereinafter more clearly set forth.

By reference to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seen that the teeth of the segments 33 mesh with rack teeth 35 which are formed on opposite sides of the upper extremity of a valve stem 36 which slides loosely within the guide 30 and carries a double cone valve 37 on its lower end. By reference to Figs. 2, 6 and 7, it will be seen that the valve 37 is formed of a pair of cones 38 which have their apexes joined as shown at 39, their bases being provided with conical extensions 40 to the uppermost of which, the stem 36 is connected. The valve 37 is slidable within the tubular extension 22 of the hopper 3 and is guided therein by a series of ribs or wings 41 which connect the tapered faces of the cones 38. When the bell 2 is raised, the weight of the segments will force downwardly upon the stem 36 and force the uppermost cone 38 downwardly to close the upper end of the tubular extension 22. This movement, on the part of the segments 33 will move the levers 34 upwardly as above suggested. It now becomes expedient to provide means whereby the descent of the gas bell will move said levers downwardly thus, through the action of the segments 33 and the valve stem 36, raising the valve 37 for obvious reasons. For this purpose, I provide a ring 42 which is rigidly carried by the hell 2, it being connected thereto bymeans of angular brackets 43. It is of importance that the ring 42 should be spaced a considerable distance from the wall of the hell 2, the expediency of this positioning,

bein hereinafter more clearly set forth. It Wlll be noted, that although a ring is here shown and described, any suitable inwardly extending projection could be employed for rocking the levers 34.

It is a well known fact that moisture. within the gas bell, collects upon the top of said bell and is prone to drip therefrom. This dripping often causes the carbid within the hopper to become moistened thereby causing gas to be generated from the carbid within the hopper and if certain parts are not constructe of non-rustable material, this dripping produces extremely undesirable 'effects upon said parts. In order to overcome these difliculties, I provide, between the ring 42 and the top of the bell 2, a substantially cone-shaped defiectin plate 44, said plate being carried by sald bell and being provided, around its edge, with a plurality of drip openings 45. These openings are so positioned as to prevent any moisture from dripping upon the brackets 43, the

ring 42, the carbid hopper 3 and the parts carried thereby. Thus it will be seen that these elements are eifectually guarded against deterioration.

Heretofore, with devices of this character, it has been customary to provide the top of the hopper and the top of the hell with hand holes closed normally by suitable caps, this provision being made for the purpose of filling the carbid hopper. With this con-- struction, the hopper may be filled only when the bell 2 is lowered and even then, a vast amount of gas is prone to escape through the opening in the bell. As simple and inexpensive means of overcoming this objectionable feature, I have provided a filling tube 46 which is preferably formed in a number of telescopic sections, the uppermost one of which, designated at 47, projecting through the top of the hell 2 and depending through the deflecting plate 44 while the lowermost section 48 is carried rigidly by an extension 49 of the ring 27. Thus it will be seen that the telescopic sections 49' between the sections 47 and 48, are free to slide upon each other as the bell ascends or descends. The outer end of the section 47 may be provided with any suitable closure, a screw plug 50 being preferably employed for this purpose.

In orderto allowan amount of as to escape, in case of over generation, provide an L-shaped exhaust pipe 51 which projects either into the interior of the wall 24 or into the space between said wall and the hell 2, its location being immaterial, provided it be in communication with a portion of the apparatus in which gas is trapped. When properly positioned, the upper end of the pipe 51 lies a suitable distance beneath the water line L within the tank 1 and the parts within said tank. The

lowing the water outer end of the pipe 51 is provided with a gas cock 52 and with an upright exhaust pipe 53 which may rise through the roof of the generating house to the open air.

For the urpose of conducting the generated gas mm the interior of the bell 2, I provide the service pi e4, the latter passing through the lower en of the tank 1 and bein provided with a pair of valves 54 and 54 with a valved branch pipe 55 which leads to the house connections and with a gas cock 56 at the juncture of said pipes 4 and 55. As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the valves 54 and 54' arepositioned on opposite sides of the pipe 55, the valve 54 being employed for the purpose of discontinuing communication between the gas bell 2 and the remainder of the pipe 4, while the valve 54' is em loyed for the purpose of allowing some of t e gas to escape from the hell 2 and allowing said escaped gas to travel to a second bell, which may be employed if found desirable.

With the parts as above described, the operation of the device is as follows: The screw cap 50 is removed and the hopper is filled with carbid. The bell 2 now rests upon brackets 57, and the action of the ring 42 against the levers 34, retains the valve 37 in the position shown in Fig. 2. It is to be understood that previously to this operation, the tank 1 has been partially filled with Water. When the proper amount of carbid has been conveyed into the hopper 3, the open end of the filling tube 46-is again closed by the screw plug 50 and the action of the carbid, in dropping into the water, produces acetylene gas. The gas generated new rises within the upright wall 24 and passes outwardly through the perforations 26 in the top 23 thereof, the top 23 now serving to break up the large bubbles of gas thus alto more perfectly purify or filter the same. As the gas rises through the openings 26, it will of course accumulate within the bell-2 and will cause the same to rise thus moving the ring 42 out of contact with the levers 34 and allowing the weight of the segmental gears 33 to close the valve at the discharge end of the hopper. Before allowin the gas to pass from the interior of the bel? into the house connections, it is necessar to remove all air from the interior of said ell. For this purpose I have employed an air outlet valve 58 in the top of the bell. After the bell has risen, the valve 58 is o ened to "allow all air to escape from the bel opinion that all air has escaped, in order to verify his decision, a flexible hose is connected to the gas cock 56 and the valve 54 is opened, the valve in the service pipe 55 bein r now closed. The gas flows through sait.

flexible tube (not shown) and into a burner (not shown) where, if all air be exhausted, the gas will burn perfectly. If the burner l 2. When the operator is of the indicates that all air has not been exhausted,

the valve 58 is again opened and the above described 0 oration is re eated until the necessary e ect is obtained whereupon the valves'may be properly operated to conduct the generated gas into the connections from which it is exhausted to the various burners within the building. In case particles of carbid should revent the closing of the valve 37, it will be readily seen that excessive generation will take place. Since the upward movement of the hell 2 is limited by the rods 18, the water within the lower end of said bell and the tank 1, will be forced downwardly within said bell and upwardly outside thereof. This lowering of the water level within the bell 2, exposes the upper end of the exhaust pipe 51 thus allowing some of the gas to escape from the interior of said bell and rise through the pipe 53 into the open air thus preventing the water from overflowin the wall of the tank 1. If found desirable, t e pipe 53 may be provided with a cut off valve gnot shown) and a hose may be attached to t is cock 52, said hose leading to a supplemental hell or tank thus saving any gas which would otherwise be lost.

I consider the provision of the wall 24 and its perforated top 23, extremely important features of my invention since they not only form a rigid support for the hopper 3 and act upon the generated gas in the above described manner, but the wall 24 acts as a simple means for preventing the gas generated, from rising outside the bell 2, in the following manner. After numerous charges of carbid'have been deposited u )on the bot tom of the tank 1, the ashes and sludge will form a pile of considerable height at the center of said bottom. The shape of this pile will be substantially that of a cone, the effect being that any carbid dropped upon the same is caused to roll downwardly and outwardly. When now, the water acts upon said carbid and the gas rises therefrom, should the bell 2 be raised, the gas would be prone to flow upwardly and outwardly to an extent great enough to allow it to pass outside of said hell, were it not for the provision of the wall 24. It will therefore be seen that this is an extremcl y salient feature. When it becomes necessary to flush the tank 1, the valve in the nozzle (5 is opened and the cranks 9 are actuated in such a manner as to cause the tines 10 of the agitators 7 to loosen all ashes and sludge and allow the same to be washed outwardly through said nozzle by the discharge of water therethrough.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanyin drawings, the construction and operation of the inven tion will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Although I have described my invention with considerable minuteness, I do not wish permost section,

to be limited to details of construction other than those amplified in the appended claims.

Havin thus described my invention, what I c aim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. A- gas enerator compris' a water tank a gas therein, a carbid hopper withm said bell and supported by said water tank, means for controlling the discharge of carbid from said hopper, means forconducting the generated gas from said bell, a hopper filling tube dependin through the top of said bell and a removable closure for said tube, the latter being formed of a number of telescopic sections, the u permost thereof being secured to the top 0 the bell and the lowermost bein secured to said hopper, whereby said be is allowed-vertical movement and access into said hopper may be had at all times. I

2. A gas generator com rising a water tank, a gas bell slidable t erein, a carbid hopper within the bell, means controlling the discharge of carbid from said hopper, means for conductingl the generated gas from said bell, a cone s aped deflecting plate secured to said bell in a plane above said ho per and spaced below the top of said beii, a section of tubing carried rigidly by said hopper and projecting into its interior, a section of tubing depending ri 'dly through the top of said bell and sai deflecting plate, a number of telescopic sections of tubing between said first mentioned sections and a removable closure for the up- 3. A gas generator comprising a water tank, a gas bell slidable therein, a gas outlet from said bell, a rojection on the interior of the bell, a carbid hop er within said bell and supported rigidly y said tank, said hopper having a funnel shaped lower end, a valve withm said hopper and coacting with said funnel shaped end,'a valve stem rising from said valve and projecting above said hopper, rack teeth on opposite sides of the upper end of said stem, posts rising from said hopper, levers pivoted to said sts and segmental gears on the inner en s of said levers and in mesh with said rack teeth, the outer ends of said levers projecting into projection on hopper within said bell and rigidly supported by said water tank, said hopper havmg a funnel shaped lower end, a valve within said hopper and coacting with said lower end, avalve stem risin from said valve and projecting above said opper, rack teeth on opposite sides of the upper end of said stem, posts rising from said hopper, levers pivoted to said posts, and pro ectin outwardly into the downward path of sai ring, and segmental gears on the inner ends of said levers and in mesh with said rack teeth.

5. A gas generator comprising a water tank, a gas bell slidable therein, a as outlet from said bell, a plurality ,of rackets projecting inwardly from said bell near its top, a ring secured to said brackets, a carbid hopper within said bell and rigidly supported by said water tank, said hopper having a funnel shaped lower end, a valve withinsaid hopper and ooacting with said lower end, a valve stem risin from said valve and projecting above said opper, rack teeth on opposite sides of the u per end of said stem, posts risin from sai hopper, levers pivoted to sai posts, and projectingi outwardly into the downward path of sai ring, segmental gears on the inner ends of said levers and in mesh with said rack teeth and a cone shaped deflecting plate secured to said bell between said ring and its to said plate having openings around its e ge above the spaces between said brackets and above the space between said ring and the bell, wherea nesses.

, JOHN K. HAWKINS. Witnesses:

O. R. EDWARDS Ga M. Goron'rn. 

